Adult son of DA arrested in Clarksville home invasion

CLARKSVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

The son of the Montgomery County District Attorney is facing charges in connection with a Clarksville home invasion Thursday afternoon.

John Wesley Carney III, 27, the son of District Attorney General John Carney, is accused of busting into a soldier's home on Needmore Road with three other men and threatening the victim in front of his young children.

The men are accused of restraining Darnell Jones with electrical tape and threatening to cut him if he didn't hand over money and weapons.

The suspects then allegedly ransacked the place before robbing the family of their $3,000 emergency fund.

As the men took off, Jones was able to break free and grab his gun. He then managed to fire at the suspects' getaway truck as they were leaving.

The victim said he complied because he was thinking about the safety of his 4- and 2-year-old children.

Shortly after, Clarksville police arrived and arrested two of the suspects immediately. A third suspect was caught a bit later. John Carney III was caught early Friday.

"They need to make an example. Somebody needs to go away," Jones said.

Gregory Lee King, 37, Chad Thomas Seay, 28, Bryan Ross Wallace, 29, and Carney III have also been booked into the Montgomery County Jail and each suspect faces robbery and kidnapping charges.

This is not the first time John Carney III has been in trouble with the law.

He has been arrested for two DUIs, according to court documents. One of those DUIs was dismissed, and he was sentenced to almost a year in jail for his second drunk driving arrest, however, that sentence was reduced to just 30 days credit for time served.

His father will now have to step aside as another outside DA and judge are brought in to prosecute the robbery case.

Each suspect is jailed on $175,000 bond, but that does little to offer comfort to Jones' scared family. Jones is deploying to Afghanistan on Monday and said he's terrified to leave his wife and their two children behind.

District Attorney General Carney told Channel 4 News his son has had a history of prescription drug abuse.

His son lives at home with his dad, and once the DA found out about the alleged home invasion, he said he called police and told them to come pick him up.

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